Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), has expressed the belief that the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games will be as splendid as the Olympic Games.

He made the remarks in a recent interview with the press.

"I am pleased with the links between the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the IPC. BOCOG is the first organizing committee for both the Olympics and Paralympics, and from what I have seen here in recent days, many of the BOCOG's jobs are related to the Paralympics. A successful Olympics is doubtlessly helpful for the Paralympics," he said.

He was impressed by Beijing's efforts in the construction of accessible facilities. Giving a thumbs-up to the Paralympic Village now under construction, he said he had never seen such good facilities for the Paralympic athletes. For instance, he said, there are three toilets in an eight-bed apartment. One toilet is accessible to wheelchair users and the other two are also easy to use.

As the BOCOG and the Beijing municipal government have promised, due modifications will be made to ensure the climbing of the Great Wall by the Paralympic athletes, expected to number 4,000, the IPC president believed